U.S. adds 211,000 jobs in November as unemployment rate stays at 5%

A carpenter installs a new picture window at the Southworth Building across Ontario Street from the Horseshoe Casino Cleveland.

The U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November, continuing a good pace of activity from the prior month, as the unemployment rate held steady at 5%, according to a report released Friday morning, Dec. 4, by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Job gains in November were strongest in construction, professional and technical services, and health care, BLS reported. The government also said September and October were stronger than previously reported. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for September was revised from +137,000 to +145,000, and the change from October was revised from +271,000 to +298,000, BLS said. With those revisions, employment gains in September and October combined were 35,000 more than previously reported. Over the past three months, job gains have averaged 218,000 per month. BLS said that over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate and the number of people who are unemployed are down by 0.8 percentage points and 1.1 million, respectively. Employment in construction rose by 46,000 in November, with much of the increase occurring in residential specialty trade contractors (+26,000). Over the past year, BLS said, construction employment has grown by 259,000. In November, professional and technical services added 28,000 jobs. That category has added 298,000 jobs in the past year. Health care employment increased by 24,000 over the month, following a large gain (+51,000) in October. Employment in the health care sector has grown by 470,000 over the past year, according to BLS data. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents in November to $25.25, following a 9-cent gain in October. Over the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2.3%, the government rata show. Here’s the unemployment rate for major worker groups: adult men, 4.7%; adult women, 4.6%; teenagers, 15.7%; whites, 4.3%; blacks, 9.4%; Asians, 3.9%; and Hispanics, 6.4%. The number of long-term unemployed — those jobless for 27 weeks or more — was unchanged at 2.1 million in November and “has shown little movement” since June, BLS said. In November, those individuals accounted for 25.7% of the nation’s unemployed. The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.5%, changed little in November. The number of people employed part time for economic reasons — BLS calls them “involuntary part-time workers” — increased by 319,000 to 6.1 million in November, following declines in September and October.